Obamacare enrollment: Mayors hold the key

Other mayors described how they’re tapping city resources for enrollment efforts.

Tom Henry, the Democratic mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., said his office has sponsored workshops and educational meetings about the health law. Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, Ohio, said his office is doing daily outreach to constituents about new coverage options and working with local health centers to boost enrollment.

Text Size

“The train’s kind of left the station now, and let’s work on making this the best plan possible,” said Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville, Ky., another Democrat.

Others, though, said they’re largely bystanders, particularly when it comes to people in their community who would have been eligible for expanded Medicaid, but state officials blocked it.

Mayor Percy Bland of Meridian, Miss., said he’s encouraging people to enroll in the exchange but that many of the city’s 40,000 residents are at the mercy of state lawmakers and Gov. Phil Bryant, who have objected to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. Bland noted that the two hospitals in Meridian are the city’s largest employers, but they are poised to lay off employees without federal dollars that would have come with expansion.

“It’s shameful,” Bland said. “With both our House and our Senate controlled by Republicans, it’s going to be tough for them to change.”

Beach Mayor Philip Levine, another Democrat, is staying out of the thorny politics of health care. He’ll provide information to residents, he said, but he added that he’s “made a pledge to stay clear.”

“There’s really a gap of information. I think it’s important for the mayors and city halls to bridge that gap and provide the information,” he said. “The federal government’s big and large. City government’s right there in your face.”

On the Hill, some Republicans say if the White House tunes in mayors, it may not like what it hears.

“If the president reaches out to mayors and truly listens to what many of them are saying, he’ll find more problems caused by his health care law,” said Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), chairman of the GOP Doctors Caucus and a strong foe of the Affordable Care Act.

“For instance, he’ll hear concerns about the reinsurance fees that cost towns and cities a huge amount without providing any value to their residents,” he said. “As a former mayor myself, I know that mayors are keenly aware of the impacts federal regulation and budget constraints have on local resources. It would have been much better for the president, the administration and, most importantly, the American people, if President Obama sought input from local officials prior to passing the Affordable Care Act.”